Carpenters Elementary students raise money for cancer patients

Photo by Leslie Karnowski

Carpenters Elementary School fourth graders Will Combs and Drew Blair collected pennies from every classroom at the school as part of the school’s Pennies for Patients campaign to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Photo by Leslie Karnowski

Connie Hood with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society celebrates a great fundraising effort by the students at Carpenters Elementary School.

Pennies add up to dollars. Students at Carpenters Elementary School recently found out just how quickly those “pennies” can multiply into big numbers. The students held a fundraising drive at the school for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, using the organizations Pennies for Patients model.

The elementary school students raised $1,605.54 with their “spare change.”

The national program began in 1994 in North Carolina. Participants are encouraged to donate their change everyday for a three-week period to help improve the quality of life for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. Nationally, the campaign has raised millions of dollars.

The student council at Carpenters helped spearhead the effort. Students wrote informational paragraphs that could be read with the morning announcements, then collected the change door-to-door during the school day. Fourth-grade students Drew Blair and Will Combs helped collect the coins from individual classrooms each day.

Connie Hood campaign coordinator for school and youth programs for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, was at the school for the announcement of the total raised. She said she was impressed with the efforts of the children. Nationally, the Pennies for Patients goal is $21 million, with $300,000 hoping to come in from Tennessee.